Of Love, Crime Scenes, and DNA Swabs
by casisabamf
Summary: This story follows the life of Stephanie Foster, a Level 2 CSI for the Las Vegas Crime Lab, and the relationship and work problems that come with working there. Chapters may change POV.
1. Just a Normal Day at the Lab

So this is my first fanfiction on here. I own nothing from the show CSI, but I do own my original character Stephanie Foster and a few others that will show up later in the story. Enjoy. =D

**Chapter One**

"**Just a Normal Day at the Lab"**

"Come on Greggo. Tell me what I wanna hear."

"Like I told Steph five minutes ago: I'm completely backlogged and your case is next. Now leave."

Stephanie Foster couldn't help but laugh at the look on Nicky's face when scrawny little Greg Sanders shoved him out of the DNA lab. It really was a Kodak moment. Unfortunately for her, Nick heard her laughing…which usually didn't end so well for Steph. Of course she was right because here was Nick Stokes heading her way.

"What's so funny, Peanut?"

She somehow managed to regain her composure. "Aside from Greg practically throwing you out of DNA? Nothing at all Nicky."

"Yeah well you could have warned me that he was on his man period. It would have been nice to know."

"Leave Greg alone. It's not his fault that it makes him like this."

Once again, Steph was laughing. At least Nick joined in this time. Things had been like this ever since Stephanie Foster first started in the lab. The joking with Nick, the picking on Greg. These were just pretty normal things around here. Time to cue the entrance of either Grissom or Catherine.

"Picking on Greg again?"

Nick and Stephanie both turned to look at Catherine. See? Things can get predictable around here sometimes…but only when it comes to the habits of the people who work here. Stephanie has been in this lab for two years now and the family feel of the team was always been there. Always.

"Why would we do that Catherine?"

She just chuckled and walked off to Trace. Nick turned back to talk to Steph.

"Wanna go see if Greg is done? He said our evidence was next after all."

"You know he's probably going to yell at us for hovering."

"So?"

With that Stephanie followed Nick back into the DNA lab. The very noisy DNA lab. Where Greg sat spinning in a chair drumming on his knees. Yep. He was really backlogged wasn't he?

Nick pushed the button on the radio, making the DNA lab nice and quiet. Greg turned around and realized he was caught.

"Thought you were backlogged Greg?"

"I can multi-task. I'm running your sample right now. Any second it should spit out your results."

Nick just rolled his eyes. Stephanie really didn't see a problem. She was known to walk around the lab with my headphones blasting in my ears. It was how she worked best. Nice loud music. Just then the printer spit out what could only be our DNA results. Steph grabbed them before Greg could even reach up.

"You know that gets on my nerves right Steph?"

"Yeah but you'll never do anything about it Greg." After looking over the results, Stephanie turned to look at Nick. "We got him."


	2. A Strange Night Out

I do not own anything or anyone from CSI. I do own Stephanie Foster though. And I promise the next chapter will get more into the plot. There were somethings I just needed to establish before I got to deep into it.

"**A Strange Night Out"**

"Drinks on me tonight boys." Stephanie said as she closed her locker.

"I like the sound of that," Warrick said as he entered the locker room.

"I'll met you guys there. Just gonna go tell Greggo."

As she walked out of the locker room, Steph almost ran into someone. Of course it was Greg.

"Stalking me Sanders?"

"Not at all Foster. Word around the lab is that drinks are on you tonight?" Stephanie couldn't help but laugh as he raised an eyebrow at her. "What's so funny?"

"You're face of course. And how did word get around the lab that fast? I just told Warrick and Nick that like five seconds ago."

"Hodges."

"Hodges. Of course. Yes, Warrick's and Nick's drinks are on me tonight."

Steph just chuckled as he pouted and said, "Mine too?"

"Yes yours too."

"I'll be there then. Later Steph."

As he walked back to his DNA lab, she shook her head and chuckled. She still did not understand why she called him her best friend. Oh well.

* * *

><p>An hour later, the group was sitting in their favorite bar having a good time. They were all already halfway through their second beer and genuinely enjoying themselves.<p>

"All right. I'm going to go home and get some well deserved sleep," Warrick said as he took the final swig of his beer.

"Party pooper."

"Steph, he does have a point. I think I'm going to head out too."

"Really? Nick. Warrick. You suck."

Nick just chuckled as he gave Steph a hug. "Bye Peanut." He nodded at Greg. "Greg."

"Bye Steph, Greg." Warrick waved. Stephanie waved back and took another swig of her beer.

With that, it was just Greg and Steph. She still couldn't believe they'd ducked out that early. She looked over at Greg.

"You gonna duck out on me too?"

"Why would I leave when I'm getting free drinks?"

Stephanie just laughed and finished my beer.

* * *

><p>Two hours and two beers later for Steph (about five more for Greg) and Stephanie was ready to leave. She was having a good time and all but her and Greg did have work to do tomorrow. The only problem was: Greg tended to get whiny and stubborn when he was drunk. And he was most definitely drunk.<p>

"Come on Steph! I don't wanna leave yet."

She grabbed the beer from his hand with some slight protest.

"I think you have had enough. Come on. I'll drive you home."

"I'm fine Steph. Come on! I don't wanna go home yet…" He started to pout. If you couldn't tell: that was just how he tried to get his way. And it usually works.

"That's not working tonight Sanders. Let's go."

Steph stood up after placing some money on the table that would cover the bill and then some. As she tried to pull Greg out of his chair, he made sure that she wasn't able to. She was really starting to get fed up with that.

"Greg. Really. It's time to go."

"Fine."

He finally allowed her to pull him out of a chair…and they both flew right into some guy that had just walked in.

"I'm so sorry." Stephanie paused and looked at the man. He looked familiar but she couldn't place where she'd seen him before. That didn't matter right now because he was really handsome.

"It's all right."

He smiled, nodded, and walked away. Stephanie proceeded to pull Greg towards the door, ready to go home.

* * *

><p>Steph opened the door to Greg's apartment because there was no way she was just going to trust him to get into this apartment with the way he was acting. She walked him inside and sat him down on the couch.<p>

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow Greggo. Sweet dreams."

Steph turned to leave and he grabbed her wrist and looked up at her with a pout on his face.

"Stay?"

Steph just chuckled. "Not tonight Greggo."

His grip didn't loosen and he started to pout more. She let out a sigh and looked at him. Steph shouldn't have let her guard down because he managed to pull her down on the couch. She was about to protest but Greg did what he did best: surprised the crap out of her. Before she could even react, his lips were on hers and she pushed him away with all of her might. When she finally managed to, Steph got up and headed towards the door.

"Good night Greg."

Stephanie left and headed back towards her car. This wasn't the first time he'd done something like this but he'd never tried that hard before. As she sat in her car, she couldn't help but think about how this was going to affect their friendship.


	3. One Life Spared

I do not own anything or anyone from CSI. I do own Stephanie Foster and any other characters that aren't from the television series. I have switched to writing in third person so if you started reading this before I changed: don't be nervous. It was just easier for me to write. I am always open to criticism: good or bad.

**Chapter Three**

"**One Life Spared"**

Greg's POV

Greg Sanders woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing.

"Go away…" He whined as the cell phone kept ringing. He had a killer headache and was not in the mood.

The phone didn't listen though. It started to ring again. Greg groaned and rolled over to reach for the phone on the nightstand next to his bed. This resulted in him rolling onto the living room floor. He had completely forgotten that he'd fallen asleep on the couch where Steph had left him. _Crap._ He'd kissed Stephanie last night. Again. Greg still did not understand how she could still be friends with him after all of those times he had kissed her against her will. He figured that she would never understand…and his phone would not shut up! He looked around for it and finally found it in his hoodie pocket. He looked at the caller ID. It was Grissom.

"Hello?" Greg said groggily.

"Greg! Where the hell are you that you can't answer your phone?"

"I left it in the living room after I got home yesterday." Greg then looked at the clock on his cable box. "I'm not even supposed to be in for another hour or so."

"You said you wanted to do field work, right?" The man paused. "Well, Nick, Stephanie, and Warrick have a double homicide in Henderson and it wouldn't hurt to have an extra set of eyes on the case. I've already called Nick and they're expecting you. I'll text you the address."

"Thanks Grissom."

Greg set the phone down after the other man hung up. He was glad that Grissom trusted him to do field work. He was going to push through his slight hangover and prove to everyone else in that lab that he could do it too. His phone rang again, signaling that he had received the address. Greg hurriedly ran to his bedroom to put on some clean clothes. He was not going to mess this up.

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later, Greg pulled up in front of the house. Stephanie was out front taking pictures of something on the front porch. He took a deep breath. <em>You can do this Greg.<em> That was his final thought before he exited his car, kit and camera in hand. As he neared the porch, he noticed something didn't seem to be right with Steph. She must have heard him approaching because she looked up at him. Completely composed.

"Hey Greggo. Nick and Warrick said to send you upstairs when you got here." Greg went to join her on the porch. "Careful. Don't wanna step on the evidence."

Greg smiled slightly. "You okay, Steph?"

"Yeah. Fine. Just get in there before Nick has a fit." She cracked a smile before going back to her work.

Greg let out a sigh as he entered the house. The smell of death reached him before the young officer did. Greg flashed his ID before he headed up the stairs. He spotted Brass with Nick and Warrick at the end of the hall. He then spotted the blood pool…and a woman's body.

"Hey. What do you want me to do?"

The three men looked up at him. Greg's eyes shifted between the woman's body on the floor and the man's on the bed. Once his eyes reached the man, he had to look away. He really didn't want to look at the gun shot that was in his chest.

"Every extra hand is going to be needed to find her…" Brass said into the phone as he exited the room. Greg looked at the two CSIs that were left.

"Meet Mr. and Mrs. Larson. She appears to have been shot in the chest like her husband," Warrick said motioning between the two bodies. "And don't worry about being late. The coroner isn't even here yet."

"…and as for what you can do," Nick said looking up from his notes. "Go process the bedroom down the hall. Take lots of photographs and detailed notes."

"Right." Greg nodded and headed down the hall.

He realized that he should probably ask which room was the bedroom, but he didn't want to seem stupid. Greg was just going to figure it out for himself. It wasn't that hard. He spotted a boot print on the door about halfway down the hall. He pulled a pair of gloves on and took the pictures he needed to take. Once he was done, Greg pushed the door open. He was slightly taken a back by the room. It was clear that it belonged to a little girl…and that the little girl was nowhere in sight. It then hit him. That was probably who Brass was talking about when he was on the phone. That also explained why Steph didn't look right. Cases that involved kids just hit her hard. A lot harder then it did most of the other people in the lab. He let out a sigh and started to document the room. There were stuffed animals and clothes thrown all over the floor as if the suspect was trying to find the little girl but he couldn't. Greg really hoped that she was safe. People that hurt kids in any way were just horrible.

* * *

><p><span>Steph's POV<span>

Steph had pretty much processed the whole front of the house. Brass had come out and was now talking to a lot of cops holding up a picture of the little girl that was missing. Her name was Mary according to the letters above her bed. That was why Stephanie had volunteered to process the outside. She couldn't stand being in that house. Not when there was an innocent little girl missing from it.

Stephanie decided to head around the side of the house and to check the back. She didn't want to listen to Brass's speech about the girl. It would cause her to lose it. She shined her flashlight along the ground as she walked, so that she wouldn't miss anything. As she neared the backyard, Steph heard something rustling in the bushes. She quickly put her hand on her weapon, ready to protect herself.

"Hello. Las Vegas PD. Show yourself."

Nothing happened and the rustling ceased. Stephanie was still on guard though. She neared the back and noticed that the back door was slightly ajar. The boys hadn't made it into the kitchen yet so it was safe to assume that it had happened in the process of the crime. She headed over to the door and saw a set of footprints leading away from it in the dirt. A very small set of bare footprints.

Stephanie gasped and proceeded to follow them. They ended at the bushes that she had heard the rustling coming from before. Stephanie removed her hand from the top of her weapon to push the bushes aside. She was face to face with a very terrified looking girl that looked just like the one in the picture.

"Mary?" The girl looked up into her eyes. "I'm Stephanie Foster. I'm with the police and no one is going to hurt you. I promise."

She held her hand out for the little girl to grab. Steph gave her a reassuring smile as the girl reached for her hand. Once the small hand was in hers, she pulled the girl out of the bushes and picked her up. "Guys! I found her! I found Mary!"


	4. Getting A Little Too Attached

Hey guys! I do not own anything or anyone from CSI. I do own Stephanie Foster, Mary Larson, and Detective Matthew Anderson though. ^_^ I'm always open to suggestions/criticism. =D

**Chapter Four**

"**Getting A Little Too Attached"**

Steph held little Mary to her as officers rushed towards the backyard. She was glad that this little girl had been unharmed. She just kept rubbing her shoulders and whispering that everything would be all right. No one was ever going to hurt her. Steph was going to make sure of that. She looked up as Brass ran over to them. The little girl wouldn't take her face out of Steph's shoulders. Brass looked to Steph.

"She seems all right," Steph said looking at the man.

"That's good." He turned to the officers. "Well, guys. You can get back to your jobs. Thank you for your assistance."

As the officers started to leave, Steph held Mary close to her. She saw Nick, Warrick, and Greg standing near the back door. Nick looked as relieved as she did that this little girl was safe. Steph looked up as an officer walked over to her.

"Let me give her a ride to the hospital. Child services are going to come pick her up there in a couple of hours."

The officer held out her arms as if she was going to take little Mary from Stephanie. The little girl held on tighter to Steph, who in turn just looked at the woman.

"It's all right. I can take her. Nick, Warrick, and Greg have the scene covered."

The officer just gave Steph a knowing smile. Stephanie walked towards the three male CSIs on the way to her car.

"You guys got it covered right? Cuz I just said you did so I can take Mary here to the hospital."

Nick nodded. "We got it covered Peanut. Go take care of her."

Stephanie smiled at the three men before she headed to her car.

* * *

><p>Steph pulled up to the hospital and lifted Mary up out of the back of the car. She held Mary to her as she walked up to the front desk. She looked at the older woman behind the desk and explained why she was there. The older woman gave Steph a small smile and directed her towards a room. They didn't wait long for a doctor because one was there almost instantly. The little girl was checked over and nothing seemed to be physically wrong. Once the doctor left, Steph sat down on the edge of the bed and Mary grabbed on to her. Steph held her close and looked up at the door as it opened once more.<p>

"I'm Detective Matthew Anderson. Captain Brass sent me here to sit with the girl until child services got here."

Stephanie looked up at the man that she had bumped into at the bar last night. She now understood why he looked so familiar.

"Detective I'm-"

"Call me Matt," he said giving her a slight smile.

"Matt. I'm Stephanie Foster, CSI Level 2. And this-" she motioned to the little girl, "is Mary Larson."

Matt walked over to the bed and squatted down so that he would be eye level with the little girl.

"Hi Mary. My name's Matt. Listen, why don't you come with me and we'll go get you a candy bar or something. You have to be hungry."

Mary just clutched onto Stephanie tighter causing the CSI to hold onto the little girl tighter.

"Actually, if it's all right with you, I think I'm going to stay with her. Maybe take her back to the lab since we are going to have to wait a while."

At least at the lab she could find a way to amuse the little girl. She still had crayons in the desk from the last time the Lindsey had visited. Maybe it would help Mary open up. The detective just nodded.

"Brass said that you might say that."

Stephanie couldn't help but smile. Of course Jim knew she would act like this. He was probably one of the only officers that she'd ever worked with that she'd actually talked to outside of work.

"He also said child services is already expecting to pick the girl up there so you're free to go if you want."

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Stephanie and Mary sat in the office the CSI shared with Archie. The two were coloring and drawing pictures. Mary still hadn't said anything, but she seemed to be enjoying herself as she drew on the plain white computer paper. Steph wondered if the little girl would ever talk, but figured as long as she was doing something that she would be okay. Stephanie looked up as she heard a knock. She gave Nick a slight smile.<p>

"Hey Nicky."

"Hey. So Greggo is running the DNA and Warrick is at the station talking to someone who had a grudge against the vic-."

"Um Nick-" Stephanie motioned to the little girl that must have been hidden behind her.

Nick closed his mouth and walked over to the desk. He looked down at the drawing that the little girl had done.

"Hey there Mary. My name's Nick. And that is a very pretty picture."

He gave the young girl the charming smile that Stephanie was so used to seeing. The little girl actually smiled back at the Texan.

"Would you like to draw too?"

Those were the first words that little Mary Larson had said since Stephanie found her.

"Why sure. That is if Steph here doesn't mind."

Stephanie just smiled and handed Nick a piece of paper. She hoped maybe Mary would open up a bit now.


	5. Letting Go

_I'm sorry for the long time between updates and the shortness of it. I'm working on a much longer chapter now. ^_^ *insert generic disclosure posted on every other chapter here*_

**Chapter 5**

"**Letting Go"**

One hour later and you wouldn't know what little Mary Larson had been through tonight. She was too busy laughing and generally joking around with Nick. Stephanie couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of her. Nick had always been so good when it came to dealing with children. It never ceased to amaze Steph though.

The person from child services had still yet to show up. Neither of the CSIs minded though and Grissom really didn't care much either. Their evidence was still being processed anyways. The lab was just backlogged. Seemed like it was always backlogged nowadays.

There was a knock on the door and the three people inside the office looked up to see a very official woman standing in the doorway.

"Hi. I'm Nancy Downer. I'm with child services to pick up Mary Larson."

Steph watched as little Mary crouched behind Nicky, trying to hide from the woman.

"She'll be out in a second," Nick said before looking to me. "Stephanie here will take you to get some coffee."

Stephanie nodded at Nick and got up from her seat. She knew Nick would say something to make the little girl feel better about leaving with the strange woman. Once outside the room, she turned to Nancy.

"So…where will she go?"

"Her aunt and uncle have agreed to take her. I'll be dropping her off there after I leave."

Stephanie nodded. Nick soon led Mary out of the room. The girl still didn't look too enthused to be leaving. The CSI's heart broke slightly. She couldn't help but admit she'd grown attached to the little girl. And from the look on Nick's face: he had too. They both knew it wasn't something they should do on the job, but they couldn't help it.

"Are you ready Mary?" Nancy asked.

The little girl just nodded and wrapped her arms around Nicky before enveloping Stephanie in a big hug. As she walked out of the building with Nancy, the two CSIs couldn't do anything but stand there and watch.

"Hey guys. Got your results."

They turned around to look at Greg who had brought them back to reality. Steph let out a sigh.

"Whatcha got Greggo."


	6. Case Closed

__Here's an update! I'm going to try and update this at least once a week or somewhere close to that. *insert disclaimer here*__

**Chapter 6**

"**Case Closed"**

Stephanie slammed her locker closed. They had just caught the bastard who'd murdered Mary's parents. Her and Nick were going to see her and to tell her aunt and uncle that they caught the guy.

"Ready Steph."

She gave Nicky a smile before she followed him out of the locker room and towards the garage.

They pulled up to a normal looking suburban home in Henderson. The only thing that didn't seem right was that it didn't look like a child lived there. There was no sign that Mary had been living here the past 2 weeks. Nick and Stephanie walked up to the door and knocked. A man who must have been Mary's uncle answered it.

"What do you want?" he said.

Nick looked at Steph before speaking. "Um hello sir. I'm Nick Stokes and this is Stephanie Foster. We're from the crime lab. We just wanted to talk to you and your wife about something and see how Mary is doing."

"Did you catch the guy who did that to my brother and his wife?"

"We did, but-"

"Well then you really don't need to say anymore Mr. Stokes."

With that he slammed the door in their faces. Stephanie could have sworn she saw Mary peaking around the corner, a frightened look plastered on her face. She turned away from the door and stormed back to the SUV, Nick not that far behind. She got in and slammed the door closed. It took everything in her power not to go back there and yell at that man for not caring.

Nick got in the car and looked at her.

"Come on Steph. Let it out. Don't need you exploding at Greggo for no reason later."

"How could someone just not care like that? It was his own brother and sister-in-law! Also: did you see the look on Mary's face? She looked scared out of her mind. There is something else going on with that family Nicky. Something no one else is seeing."

Nick let out a sigh. "I don't know how someone can act like that. And I saw her. But Steph-" She turned to look at the older man. "-There isn't anything we can do. You know how it works."

"I know. It just sucks."

Nick chuckled slightly and started the car. It was time to meet the others for dinner.

"So this guy bragged about it?" Greg asked as he popped a bite of food into his mouth.

"Yeah. He did," Brass said sitting among the CSIs.

* * *

><p>Greg looked over at Stephanie. She'd been quiet since her and Nick had gotten there. What had happened had already been talked about over the table, but Steph was the only one who hadn't chimed in. It hurt Greg to see her like this. Greg just watched as she just pushed her food around her plate.<p>

"You know what guys," Steph said as she placed her napkin back on the table. "I'm not feeling so well. I'll see you all later."

No one said anything as she left. Greg wasn't just going to let her leave like that. He put his napkin down and was about to follow her when Nick pushed himself away from the table. The rest of the group looked at Nick as he followed her out.

"Wonder if she'll ever realize how he feels about her," Catherine said as she popped a french fry in her mouth.

Greg looked over at the older woman, a look of confusion on his face.

"What do you mean Catherine?" Grissom asked, saving Greg from that embarrassment.

"Come on Grissom. Isn't it obvious?" The look on his face said he didn't know what she was talking about. "Nicky has feelings for our Stephanie."

Greg felt a pang in his chest. Steph and Nick were both his best friends and he didn't want it to ruin any of their relationships. Yeah. That was why Greg didn't like this idea of Nick having feelings for Stephanie. Totally.


	7. Just a Chat

****_Sorry for the long hiatus...and the fact that there isn't much going on in this chapter. I promise there are some things that lead to plot later on, but just enjoy this nice little chat. *insert disclaimer here*_

**Chapter 7**

**"Just a Chat"**

Two months had passed since the day they closed the Larson case. Nothing much had really changed in the lab. The CSIs had worked a couple of cases. Greg had even gotten out in the field more. The only thing that wasn't as usual was Stephanie's mood. She'd been down in the dumps and couldn't stop obsessing over how frightened Mary looked that day her and Nick went to go talk to her aunt and uncle. Something just wasn't sitting right with her. She sat at her desk looking at the drawer full of drawings that Mary, Nick, and her had done that day. She couldn't help but feel bad for the sweet little girl that stole her heart. Stephanie jumped at the sound of a knock.

"Lunch?" Greg asked holding up a bag from the Steph's favorite deli.

She smiled at him. "Yeah. I could use the break."

She closed the drawer and followed Greg to the break room. She reached for her bag of food, only to have it pulled away from her. Stephanie just gave him a look and he just smirked right back.

"All right. Why can't I have my food?"

"Cuz there are some questions I need to ask you." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Now eye rolling isn't going to get you anywhere."

"What could you possibly not know about me Greggo? I mean, you are almost always, always, ALWAYS around me." She said batting her eyelashes.

"Not true. We're not always around each other at work. I'm usually stuck in my lab, while you're off somewhere working a case."

"Not true. You've been off on cases so you haven't been stuck in the lab."

"Not the point."

"What do you wanna talk about Greggo? I'm hungry and you're holding my food hostage right now."

"All right. So that Detective Anderson guy has been hanging around a lot."

"Homicide detective Greg. Not something new around here. Now can I have my food?"

Stephanie reached out for the food once more, only to have it pulled away again.

"I didn't say I was done." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. Greg just smirked. "I'm just saying, he spends an awful lot of time in your office."

"I share it with Archie, Greg. How do you know he's not going to see him?"

"You have a point there, but I don't he's needed help from AV that much these past couple of months."

Stephanie just let out a sigh. She figured she might as well just tell Greg. Not like the man wasn't going to figure it out anyways.

"Okay. So he's been there to see me." Greg leaned forward, extenuating the fact that he was listening to her every word. "He actually asked me out."

"And you said…"

Stephanie couldn't help but chuckle. This was why she loved Greg. Even if he didn't care, which she knew he really didn't, he still pretended to. Plus he always listened no mater what.

"I said, I would think about it. Not sure I wanna date someone I'm gonna run into on the job every now and then." Especially with the case she had actually met him on. "Now can I have my food."

"Yep. Here ya go." Greg tossed her the food before digging into his own. "I did what to ask you something else though."

Steph let out a sigh as she went through the contents of the bag. "What Greg?"

"How you holding up?"

He didn't elaborate because he didn't need to. Everyone else in the lab had noticed the changes too. They were all just too afraid to ask her about it. Heck. Greg even saw the drawer full of drawings.

"I'm fine. I guess."

Greg pushed his chair around the table so he was seated next to her.

"I'm here if you need me. And I'm sure anyone here is willing to listen to you if you need it."

Steph smiled at him. "I know Greg. Can we talk about this later? Don't think this is an appropriate conversation for work."

"Sure. By the way, we still on for movie night tonight?"

"Of course. It's the one thing we make sure we do every week right? Why stop this week. I'll bring the booze since you bought lunch."

"Deal."


	8. A Total Creep

_I found my drafts on the computer and felt bad for never continuing this, not to mention I got a sudden idea for it again. XD I'll try to update this more often, but I make no major promises._

**Chapter 8**

**A Total Creep**

Hours later Stephanie shoved her belongings in her locker. Her shift had run long and she was already late for movie night with Greg. He'd understand of course. She ran her hands through her hair and slammed her locker shut. She jumped at the site of Matt standing behind it.

"Jeez. Don't ever do that again. Ever."

Matt just chuckled. "Why? I like the look of surprise on your face."

"That wasn't surprise. That was fear." Steph wasn't afraid to admit that he had frightened her. It was a natural reaction to someone showing up out of absolutely nowhere.

"Right. So have you thought about my offer yet?"

Stephanie realized how close he actually was to her and how empty the rest of the locker room seemed to be. She took a step back.

"Yeah, but I still don't think that would be a good idea." Mainly because of the working together thing, but also because of his sheer closeness to her right now. It was making her a little bit uncomfortable.

"Come on. I'll make it worth your while." Matthew raised his eyebrows and reached his hand out to touch her hip.

A look of disgust shot across Steph's face. She quickly swatted his hand away, completely appalled that he was even acting like this. She'd thought he was this sweet guy who brought her lunch every now and then. Apparently he had some sort of ulterior motive the whole time.

"Thanks, but no thanks." She said sternly. "If you'll excuse me, I've got plans tonight."

She moved to push past him but he blocked her way, a smirk on his face. Matthew's face was only inches away from her and she had not way out. Her back was pushed up against the locker. Her heart rate increased instantly.

"Come on sweetheart. I've been nothing but nice to you and shown you nothing but affection."

"I don't call this affection." Her voice quivered slightly, but she was trying her best to cover up her fear.

"Shows where we differ."

He smirked before leaning his face closer to hers. Stephanie turned her head. His hand shot up and grabbed her face turning her to face him. She used her hands to try and push him back, but it was not working.

"We got a problem in here?"

Stephanie let out a sigh as she heard Nick's familiar Texan drawl. Matthew was surprised enough that she was able to push him off of her. Nick took a step towards the two.

"No. Everything's fine."

"Doesn't look fine to me. Steph, aren't we supposed to be heading to Greg's to watch movies?"

"Yes. One second." She turned and punched Matthew in the gut. "I hope you realize that means you should never talk to me again unless we are working a case."

Nick snickered as him and Steph walked out, leaving Detective Anderson clutching his stomach. Nick escorted her all the way to her car, without saying a single word. She opened her door and turned around wrapping Nick in a big hug, placing a quick kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?" He chuckled looking down at her.

"For being my knight in shining armor and saving me from that creep."

"All in a day's work Steph. I knew there was something off about that guy, but I didn't want to say anything and risk getting bitched out by you."

She slapped him playfully. "Well thanks again." Stephanie just smiled up at Nick.

"You – uh – better get going. Greggo's probably wondering where the hell you're at."

She chuckled. "You're probably right. I'm shocked he hasn't put an APB out on me yet. Later Nicky."

"Later Steph."

Stephanie pulled away and watched Nick fade behind her in her rearview. Lately there had just been something about him that always made her smile. She loved knowing he was going to do whatever it took to make sure she was safe.


	9. Greg's a Little More than Angry

_So this chapter is a little longer and still mostly filler. Trying to still get back into the groove of writing and updating._

**Greg's a Little More than Angry**

Stephanie finally pulled into the parking lot of Greg's apartment complex, her thoughts still racing about everything that had happened. God, Greg was not going to be a happy camper once he heard what Anderson had tried to do. There was no way Steph could get away with not telling him though. Nick was bound to bring it up and to tell everyone. Heck. Nick would probably report it before Stephanie even got the chance. That was if she did decide to report it.

She turned the car off and entered the building. She knocked on Greg's door and waited for him to answer. He pulled open the door and threw his arms dramatically around her.

"What the hell took you so long?! I thought you died!" He squeezed her tighter.

"I'll explain and if you really thought I was dead, I'd hope you'd call someone and check on me."

Greg let go of her. "Why would I do that? That's too much work."

She laughed and entered the place, closing the door behind her. She threw herself onto the couch as Greg headed towards the kitchen, probably to get beer.

"What are we watching?"

"We'll figure that out later." Greg handed her a beer and sat next to her. "Now explain why your ass is so late."

Stephanie sighed and took a swig of beer. "First things first: you have to promise to let me finish before I start saying anything, otherwise I'm not telling you."

"Now that makes me think I'm not going to like what I hear."

"If you can't promise, I'm not telling you." She took another drink and turned towards the TV.

Greg sighed. "Fine. I promise."

Stephanie told Greg about the whole work running late thing. He was about to speak up when she scolded him for interrupting. She continued and told him all about Detective Creepy and how she was very lucky Nick showed up when he did. She looked over at Greg, who's face gave away everything: He was pissed.

Greg clinched his fists tighter around the beer bottle as Steph told him what had happened. He had thought something was off about Anderson from the day he started spending all of that time with Steph months ago. He just gave off a bad vibe and Greg now understood why.

"Greg. You gonna say something?"

He took a deep breath, releasing his grasp on the bottle. He looked over at her, his face still clearly showing his anger.

"Yeah. That guy better get in trouble for this. Not just a slap on the wrist."

"So you're saying I should report it?"

Greg looked at her slightly dumbfounded. "Of course you should report this. You were seriously thinking about keeping your mouth shut and just letting him get away with this?" She bit her lip, which caused Greg to sigh.

"I know I shouldn't let him get away with it, but come on. He's a very good detective unfortunately. And it's my word against his."

"First off, Nick saw what happened first hand. Second, Grissom and Brass would believe you and stand by you even if Nick hadn't. Not to mention Nick, Cath, Sara, Warrick, and myself. The whole team would have you."

"Still…"

Greg let out a sigh. He knew Steph knew that she shouldn't worry about being believed when it came to this. Everyone knew how compassionate and trustworthy she was. Not to mention the fact that she would never lie about something like that. After working at the lab for so long, she would never make something like that up. She'd seen it ruin people's personal lives more than a few times over the years.

"You're reporting this to Grissom and Brass first thing tomorrow. I'll even go to back you up."

Steph gave Greg a soft smile. "Nicky should probably come to. You know, the whole eyewitness thing."

"Right." Stephanie could have sworn she saw Greg's smile falter a bit at the mention of Nick. "Now let's watch a damn movie so we can get some sleep before we have to go to work tomorrow."


	10. Telling Grissom

****_I had this really long chapter, but yeah. It was really long so I broke it up into two (possibly even down to three). So expect multiple updates within the next hour or so and slightly shorter chapters. Enjoy._

**Chapter 10 – Telling Grissom**

"Come on Steph. You can do this. Greggo and I will right with ya."

Steph looked up at Nick's reassuring smile and then looked at Greg. Both of her friends were here to support her and back up her.

"All right." She took a deep breath and knocked on Grissom's door before entering with the boys in tow.

"Stephanie, Nick, Greg, something I can help you with?" Grissom raised an eyebrow looking over the trio in front of him.

"I have something I need to tell you." Stephanie took a pause.

Grissom stared at her waiting. "Well…what is it? I have a lot of paperwork to do here." He motioned to the clutter that covered his desk.

"Unfortunately this is probably going to give you even more." Stephanie took a deep breath and recanted her story for Grissom. When she was done she let out a sigh of relief. Getting it off her chest actually felt amazing.

Grissom looked at her. "So what your saying is Detective Anderson sexually harassed you?"

"Yeah Griss. I saw the whole thing. If I hadn't shown up, I don't know what he would have done. He had her shoved against a locker and everything." Nick butt in.

"I'll call Brass and tell him to be expecting you. You'll have to leave a formal complaint with him. I'll try my best to make sure you're not assigned to any cases he's working. You should probably head over there now. Nick you can take her."

"All right. Thanks Grissom."

"It's my job."

Stephanie smiled and walked out of the office. She was not really looking forward going to the police station. There was almost a ninety percent chance she would run into Anderson and that was not a good thing right now. At least Nick would be with her.

"We should get over to the station before Brass gets called out on a case."

"You're probably right Nicky." Steph turned to Greg and wrapped him in a big hug. "Thanks for coming for moral support. I know you didn't have much to add, but it means a lot."

Greg wrapped is arms tightly around her. "Of course. What are friends for right?"

Steph let go and grinned up at Greg. "I would expect nothing less from you Greggo. I'll see ya when we get back from the station. 'Kay?"

"I'll keep my eyes out." He saluted and turned back to his DNA lab, leaving Steph in a fit of giggles.

"Oh Greggo…" she mumbled under her breath before turning to Nick. "Well, let's do this."

"Let's go Peanut."

Steph pushed Nick lightly. He should know by now she wasn't big on the pet names he was always throwing at her. Nick just pushed her back. They continued this way until they reached Nick's car in the garage. They completely ignored the looks they were getting. They were having too much fun.


	11. Things Get Even Worse

**Chapter 11 – Things Get Even Worse**

Stephanie walked out of Brass's office. Nick looked up at her from the chair he was occupying. Brass wouldn't let him come in while she was filing the complaint something about protocol, which the two could understand.

"So…" He questioned as he stood up.

"He says he'll file the complaint, talk to Detective Asshole, and he'll get your witness statement some other time because apparently there are a lot of calls tonight and we need to get our asses out in the field."

Nick chuckled. "I'm guessing those aren't his exact words."

"What. Brass can't say things like that?"

"He can, but he wouldn't."

Stephanie just shrugged. She heard her phone and Nick's phone beep almost simultaneously. She opened it to see an address and looked at Nick.

"Guess you're stuck with me for the rest of the night."

"Looks like it. Let's get going. It's gonna take us at least thirty minutes to get there from here."

* * *

><p>The duo pulled up to the scene. Steph was glad when she saw Detective Vega. Grissom had kept his word and silently wondered who got stuck with Detective Asshole tonight. She shook the thought from her mind as she zipped up her CSI jacket and grabbed her kit from the backseat of Nick's car.<p>

"Hey guys." Vega looked more solemn than he usually did as the pair approached him. "We have an unidentified little girl. We're guessing she's between eight and ten years old. Whoever did this too her has been hurting her for some time now."

Stephanie gulped and took a deep breath. She didn't know if she'd have the stability to deal with a child case right now. When Vega turned to walk back towards the body, Nick put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. They gave each other a slight smile before walking over to the body.

Stephanie stopped a foot away. She looked at Nick, her face in a look of sheer horror. She looked back down at the body, tears slowly coming to her eyes.

"Nick. That's Mary Larson isn't it." She bit her lip trying not to burst out in sobs right now.

"Yeah. It is." He whispered, barely getting the words out.

Stephanie lost it and broke down. Nick pulled her into his chest as she began to sob uncontrollably. She heard Nick mumble an explanation as to what was going on with Vega, who gave Steph a look of sympathy.

"Steph." Nick whispered. "Go back to the car. I'll call Grissom and tell him I'm working this one solo."

She pulled away from Nick's chest and wiped the tears from her eyes. "No. I have to do this. I promised her she would be safe and she wasn't. I told you something was off."

"I know, but there was nothing we can do at the time."

"Well now we're gonna get the bastard and put him in jail."

"Steph, I don't know if it's-"

"Do not tell me it's not the best idea for me to work this case. I knew there was a case there months ago and no one believed me or bothered to check in on her properly. So no. I'm working this case and you are not going to talk me out of it Nicholas Stokes."

"Okay. Okay. Just calm down." Nick knew she was being serious. She'd pulled out his full name and Steph almost never did that.

Stephanie walked over to the body, setting her kit down. She frowned. Deep down she felt like this was all her fault. She didn't do anything to stop it and now little Mary Larson was dead because of her. She would never voice this out loud. Everyone would tell her it wasn't her fault, when she knew it was. She took a deep breath and gulped before she began to photograph the scene, Nick doing the same.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>_So yeah. This chapter made me a little sad to write. Might not get an update for a while after this cuz I hit writer's block almost immeadiately after finishing this. So yeah. Please review and stuff. =)_


	12. Turning into an Insomniac

**Chapter 12 – Turning into an Insomniac**

Two days had passed and Stephanie sat in the break room, her notes and everything pertaining to the Larson case spread across the table. Her other cases had hit the back burner unintentionally. She needed to figure this out for that sweet little girl that stole her heart all those months ago. She groaned and put her head in her hands.

So far she had no way to prove that her Uncle or Aunt hadn't done it. There was no evidence of anyone particular doing it. Someone sat in the chair next to her, placing a cup of coffee on the only free space in her area. She grasped the coffee cup and sat back in her chair, her eyes never leaving the mess of papers.

"I don't know what to do Greggo."

"Well, you could do the smart thing and go get some sleep." Steph said nothing. She just set the coffee down and went back to sifting through papers. "Steph. You haven't slept in two days. All you do is work and when you're not out on a case, you're sitting in here working on this one. You're becoming an insomniac. You need rest Steph."

"I know I need rest, but I can't. Every time I lay down to sleep I think of her. I need to do this for her." She looked at him, her eyes beginning to well with tears.

Greg groaned and closed the folder she was looking at. "Hey!"

"Come on." He stood up. "You're going to get some rest if I have to force you down in a bed."

"Sorry Greg. Not into the kinky stuff."

He rolled his eyes and started to stack the papers into a pile. "You are coming with me and sleeping. Besides: Grissom's orders. Not mine."

"Greg…"

"Don't Greg me. Come on. Get up. I'm driving you home because you are too damn tired to operate a vehicle." He grabbed the stack of papers and headed out of the break room. "Stephanie!" He called over his shoulder.

Stephanie groaned and pulled herself up from the table. She knew she wasn't going to be able to sleep but there was no way she was going to talk Greg out of this at this point. She followed him to the locker room and gave him a dirty look as he stood there watching her gather her things.

"That look isn't going to change anything."

She slammed the locker just as Nick walked in.

"Woah Steph. Take it easy. Greg's just trying to help." He walked over and enveloped her in a hug. Steph swore she saw Greg mumbled something under his breath as he looked away from the hugging pair. "We're all worried about you peanut. Go home and get some rest all right. I'm going to go through the files myself right now. Okay?"

She pulled away and mustered a soft smile. "Fine. I still don't like this though and I'm still not going to be able to sleep."

"Won't know until you try."

"I know, but whatever you say. Bye Nicky."

"Bye Steph."

Greg and Steph walked out to his car without saying a word. The drive back to her place was just as silent. Greg put the car in park and turned off the engine. Steph looked over at him to see him staring at her.

"Greg.-" She paused as he looked at her expectantly. "Can you stay with me? I wasn't lying when I said I couldn't sleep even if I tried."

"Yeah I'll stay. Come on. Let's get you in bed."

"You know how that sounds out of context right Sanders?" She closed the car door and started to head towards her apartment building.

"Of course. That's why I said it."

Stephanie smiled and shook her head. She couldn't help it with Greg sometimes.

Her apartment was somewhat of a mess, but that was pretty normal. She turned on the lights and looked around. Everything was exactly where she left it. She sighed as Greg closed the door behind him.

"Make yourself at home. I'm going to take a shower and see if that helps any."

He nodded and sat himself down on the couch. Stephanie walked to the bathroom. The shower felt amazing. The warm water running over her muscles that she hadn't even noticed were aching before. She turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel. She debated crawling into bed like this when she remembered that Greg was sitting on her couch. She pulled on a baggy t-shirt and some shorts before heading back to the living room. Greg looked away from the TV at her.

"Better?" He asked concerned.

She nodded. "I'm still not going to be able to sleep."

"Sit down and watch some TV with me then." He patted the spot next to him.

Stephanie sat down and he threw his arm over her shoulder. She laid her head on his shoulder and stared at the TV. She wasn't even sure what the hell he was watching. Soon her eyes were fluttering closed much to her surprise. She was snoring on Greg's shoulder within minutes. He just smiled and lightly kissed her forehead.

"Night Steph."


	13. Just Confused

**Chapter 13 – Just Confused**

The next day, well she assumed it was the next day due to the fact that it was dark again, Steph woke up all tucked into her bed to the smell of bacon cooking. She started to freak out when she remembered Greg had stayed with her. She smiled softly to herself as she dragged her sore body out of bed. How did she not notice how much pain her body was in?

Stephanie padded down the hallway and started to hear sounds of music coming from the kitchen. Her grin grew wider and her steps grew softer. She snuck into the living room and leaned against the wall, just watching Greg move around the kitchen cooking. He was singing and dancing along as he cooked and it was hard for her to hold in her giggles. Her hand flew to her mouth as he started to sing louder. Then he spun around and stopped. He had caught her watching and now she was able to laugh.

"Hey Steph." He said nervously as she burst into a fit of giggles. "Oh hush."

He turned around and went back to cooking, mumbling things under his breath. Stephanie finally controlled her laughter and walked over to sit at the table.

"Oh Greggo. How'd you get so dorky and adorable?"

He smirked. "I can't help how awesome I am."

"I don't remember ever using that word."

"You meant it though." He set a plate full of eggs and bacon in front of her. "Now eat up. You sleep for almost 15 hours."

Steph dropped her fork. "15 hours?! Why did you let me sleep that long?! I could've been working on the Larson case!"

"Jeez. Calm down. You needed the rest. Besides, Nick has been working on the case all day."

"Whatever. As soon as I finish this, I am going to work."

"Noooo. You are staying here and taking the day off Grissom said you needed and I am going to work since I don't get to do such great things. And Nick is coming over to make sure you don't leave."

Steph shoved a forkful of eggs in her mouth and grumpily looked at Greg. She knew there was no way around this. Especially of Grissom said she had too. She'd find a way though. She knew how to manipulate Nicky. Then again, she knew how to manipulate Greg too and that definitely wasn't working for her.

They ate the rest of the meal in silence. Once they were done, Steph cleared the table and placed the dirty dishes in the sink. She turned around and leaned on the counter as she watched Greg gather his few things to go to work. A knock on the door was followed immediately by Nick's entrance.

"Hey guys. Smells good. Who cooked?"

"I did. And there's extra if you're hungry." Greg walked over and stood in front of Steph. She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. "Call me if you need me. Okay?" She nodded. Greg wrapped her in a giant hug. "Later short stuff."

Stephanie slapped him lightly as he walked away. He nodded to Nick, who was now making himself a plate of food.

"You sleep all right, Peanut?" Nick dropped the last bit of eggs onto his plate.

"Yep. 15 whole hours according to Greg."

"Wow. Told ya you needed it."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna bum on the couch all night since I'm not allowed to work. Have fun babysitting a boring person."

"I'm not babysitting you. I'm hanging out with you on our night off like always. And you are never boring."

"Whatever you say Nicky."

Stephanie plopped herself down on the couch. And that was where she stayed for the next few hours. Nick eventually joined her. They mindlessly watched TV in silence. There really wasn't too much for them to talk about. Anyone could see the Larson case was weighing on Nick as heavily as it was on Steph. He was just better at hiding it. The bags under his eyes were a dead giveaway.

Steph leaned against Nick as they continued to watch whatever ever crappy TV show was on at midnight. She looked up at his face. The bags were worse than she'd imagined.

"Hey Nicky." He looked down at her. "Did _you _sleep at all?"

He grinned. "Nothing gets past you does it?"

"Nicky. If I had to sleep, you should have to too."

Steph stood up and grabbed Nick's arm, attempting to pull him up off the couch. Nick chuckled.

"What are you doing Steph?"

"Making you go sleep. Now get up and go sleep in my bed." She pulled harder. Nick sighed and stood up. "I'll even lay down with you. I have a TV in there that I can watch this crap on."

Steph continued to drag Nick down the hallway towards her bedroom. She plopped on the bed and patted the spot beside her. Nick just stood there laughing.

"Lay down or I will push you."

Nick put his hands up in defeat and slipped his shoes off. He then started to slip his jeans off, which Steph was definitely not expecting. She distracted herself by turning on the TV. Nick crawled into the bed next to her and threw the covers over both of them.

"If I'm going to have to lay here, I'm going to be comfy."

"As long as you get some sleep Nick."

The two laid like that for a while. The whole while Steph was trying not to think about the fact that Nick wasn't wearing pants. She had never been in a situation like this with him before, only with Greg. And Greg was well, Greg. There was always something different about hers and Nick's relationship.

"Hey Steph." Nick spoke pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah Nicky." She looked up at him.

Suddenly his mouth was crushed against hers. She didn't know how to react. She was too stunned. Nick pulled back, leaving a small space between there lips. Steph looked up into his eyes, deciding how she felt about what just happen. Before she got to decide, her phone began to ring. Nick sighed and looked down as Steph scrambled out of bed to get it.

"CSI Stephanie Foster." She listened to Grissom on the other line. "Okay. Got it." She hung up the phone and sighed before looking back at Nick. "Enjoy your sleep. I have to go in."

Stephanie grabbed clothes and hurried out of the room. What was she going to do about that kiss?


End file.
